This review is for the child safety seat program at Troop B…read more
Not having my first child until I was well into my 40's, I didn't know a thing about car seats. In fact, I could barely differentiate between a car seat and a chaise lounge. But parenthood forces you to learn quickly, make informed choices and do whatever is in the absolute best interests of your child.
I was very thankful to the NICU nurses at Children's Hospital for the initial car seat inspection, but fast forward many months, and our lil man was outgrowing his Britax B-Safe car seat, which was still in its rear facing configuration. Since we already had a Britax base, we opted for the Britax Advocate seat, but wanted a professional opinion regarding the install.
While chatting around the proverbial "water cooler:" at work, a coworker suggested that I contact Louisiana State Police (LSP) Troop B, as they have a child safety seat program headed by Public Information Officer (PIO) Trooper Melissa Matey. I called Trooper Matey and she was very informative and enthusiastic about the program. She advised me that the program was available every Wednesday from 1 PM - 4 PM at Troop B in Kenner, LA, and that if we brought the seat, they would properly install it.
I was fortunate enough to have Trooper Matey herself (lucky lucky) assist my wife and I with our son's new seat. Even though the law states you can face your child forward at just 1 year old, she strongly recommended leaving him facing rearward. Furthermore, as an FYI to any readers of this review, she added that even if your child's legs looked a little cramped in the rearward position, their legs at this age are very pliable and it is a much safer position. She also gave us some very useful literature from the State of Louisiana regarding car seats and the laws that govern their use.
Trooper Matey not only demonstrated the proper car seat installation; but she actually did the entire installation for us. Furthermore, she explained in great detail the difference between using the vehicle's safety latch system versus using the seatbelt. Little did I know that most latch systems are not intended for use once the combined weight of the child and the seat exceed 60 or so pounds; and that you are to NEVER use the latches and the seatbelt together to secure the seat; as the seat is neither designed nor tested for this.
Fast forward to April 2014 and my son had passed his 2nd birthday. We reached out to Trooper Matey again and she correctly placed his seat in the forward facing configuration. Easy as pie, and my child was thrilled to see the road ahead of him as he faced forward.
Fast forward to January 2015, and our family really needed a car seat in my vehicle, as we were really limited with just 1 car seat in our family. Since I have a sports car and the rear seats are narrow, I reached out to Trooper Matey, who advise me that Diono made a narrow seat that should fit. Furthermore, if we had additional children, Diono seats can accommodate three across in most mid-sized cars. (Not gonna happen here, but it was good to know). I got a Diono Radian RXT and went back to Troop B. Even though there are several authorized installers on Wednesdays, Trooper Matey once again handled our newest seat installation.
While doing the installation, she advised that since the combined weight of the seat and my son was nearly 60 pounds, I should use the vehicle's seat belt for the installation. I watched her press her weight (which is hardly any weight at all, as she is petite) onto the seat to compress it while she pulled the seatbelt out all the way and slowly released it so that it locked in place when it got to the right position. Heck, I didn't even know seatbelts had that capability. She showed us how to check for movement at the seatbelt and not at the front f the seat.
This program is wonderful and I cannot recommend it enough. In fact, I wish it was mandatory, as there are a lot of people who are installing seats incorrectly.
If you have ANY doubts about your child's car seat or just want to ensure that it is correctly installed, do yourself and your child a favor and reach out to Trooper Matey. Either she or one of the many talented & certified installation technicians will have you on the road in no time, and your mind will be a little more at ease knowing it was done correctly.
Drive safely!